Promotion

The gray wolf Li Wei had just killed had indeed earned him another 30 points of Hunting Experience. Added to the 75 points he'd already earned, that brought him to 105—just enough to upgrade to a Two-Star Hunter Card.

[Bound Two-Star Hunter Card]

[Changed class to Professional Hunter]

[Acquired Professional Talent: Accuracy with certain ranged weapons, including bows and crossbows, increased to 40%]

[Automatically gained 5 Free Attribute Points]

[Helpful Tip: Upgrading to a Three-Star Hunter Card requires 1,000 points of Hunting Experience, 10 units of Standard World Supplies, and one Bronze Quality Clearance Token]

This was awesome!

But this was probably just a quick transition through the beginner phase.

As he thought about it, Li Wei remembered that he'd be facing off against the wolves tonight. There were three wolves still outside, but another one might spawn.

So he'd have to take on at least the Black Wolf and one other gray wolf by himself.

How should he distribute these five newly acquired Free Attribute Points?

Strength or Agility?

At the critical moment just now, he'd managed to grab the wall and escape the wolf's jaws. His 7 points in Agility had been instrumental.

They'd greatly improved his coordination, balance, and reaction speed.

But with a head-on fight tonight, Agility alone wouldn't be enough.

After thinking it over, Li Wei raised his Agility to 8. Then he looked at his Defense stat: 3 points. What if he put all four remaining points there? What could 7 points in Defense do for him?

Would he be able to withstand a wolf's claws and teeth?

He didn't know, and he didn't dare take the risk.

"Relatively speaking, Stamina is actually more important."

"Once your Stamina is depleted, it's impossible to recover quickly. You can only let them slaughter you."

"Besides, without Stamina, you can't make full use of Strength or Agility."

Li Wei checked his status panel. When he'd woken up that morning, he'd been full of energy, but after that brief fight, he'd used up 50 points of Stamina.

Clinging to the wall and leaping back at the last possible moment had seemed like a simple move, but it had cost him a full 40 points.

"So when you're extremely tense, you use up Stamina even if you're not doing anything."

"I have to remember that and learn to control my emotions..."

"Don't be like Phila. Getting too anxious can affect your condition."

By now, Li Wei had made up his mind. Without hesitation, he put all four remaining Free Attribute Points into Stamina, raising it from 100 to 140.

The next second, he was ravenous.

It felt as if a ball of fire were burning in his stomach.

Shocked, Li Wei hurried to his feet, tore off a piece of dried wolf meat, and wolfed it down.

Only after he'd finished the piece did the hunger slowly fade.

Looking at his Stamina, he saw that it was recovering much faster than usual.

There seemed to be some kind of pattern to it.

"Moo!"

Inside the camp, Old Ox called out restlessly. He hadn't had any water for two days. Fortunately, Li Wei had cut enough grass earlier to keep him from going hungry and provide him with some moisture. He was thirsty, but at least his life wasn't in danger.

Phila and Penny were both taking the chance to rest.

The valley outside the camp was peaceful, save for the buzzing swarms of flies and the grasshoppers and birds darting about.

Li Wei was thirsty too, but he could still stand it.

At around three in the afternoon, Phila and Penny came out of the house, both wearing grave expressions.

"George, we're planning to lure the wolves in and kill them at the entrance. Our only concern is that they won't fall for it. If they keep circling outside and harassing us, that'll be a disaster."

Phila spoke first.

"So we need a backup plan. If we win the fight, that's ideal. If not, we'll go out and face them head-on."

"Okay, I agree."

Li Wei wasn't worried. He was in peak condition and thought he could handle two wolves in close combat without any trouble.

"We need to block off the entrance to the cowshed. George, could you take care of that? Mom, go back and rest. I'll make another Hunting Bow. Hopefully, it'll be useful."

Penny made the suggestion.

With a bow and arrows, even killing one gray wolf before the fight would give them a huge advantage. She wouldn't hesitate to make one now.

Li Wei and Phila had no objections.

Soon, the sun set. Though they were very thirsty, all three silently ate a piece of dried wolf meat. After resting for a while, they lit a bonfire in the camp. Phila even made three torches from animal fat.

When night fell, howls rose outside the camp again.

"Open the gate!"

Li Wei and Penny worked together to move the barricade at the entrance to the camp wall. Meanwhile, Phila lit the torches, planted two in the wall beside the entrance, and held the third herself.

"George, once the wolves show up, remember: you'll only have time to shoot once."

Penny warned him in a low voice, still a little uneasy.

Li Wei didn't answer. He remained silent, breathing evenly, his mind calm. He was in even better shape than Penny thought.

After they'd moved most of the barricade, the three of them immediately retreated some distance. The remaining obstacles weren't enough to stop the wolves from jumping inside. That was right—they'd have to jump in.

Li Wei stopped ten meters away, holding the Hunting Bow with his last feathered Wolf Fang Arrow nocked, and waited in silence.

The wolves kept howling outside the camp, but they didn't seem to have noticed the opening. The howls were still coming from the southeast.

"I'll go lure them over!"

Penny was surprisingly bold. She grabbed an ax and was about to charge over.

"Wait! It could be a trap!"

Li Wei hurried to warn her. The Black Wolf was good at drawing attention one way while attacking from another. It had already succeeded twice.

Penny glanced back at Li Wei, lowered her eyes, and calmly said, "I know, but someone has to be the bait."

With that, she jumped onto the barricade and shouted twice into the darkness outside the camp.

The howls from the southeast stopped at once. The wolves seemed to be charging over.

Penny turned around, ready to jump back. But the moment she turned, a shadow burst out of nowhere and pounced on her like lightning.

How devious! How cunning!

When had the Black Wolf crept up?

At that critical moment, a Wolf Fang Arrow flew through the air and struck the shadow, though Li Wei couldn't tell where it had hit. The shadow didn't slow down, and its momentum still carried it into Penny, knocking her down.

It had all happened too fast.

After shooting, Li Wei dropped the Hunting Bow and quickly bent to pick up the Wooden Spear. He gathered his strength, sprang up, and charged. His movements were as swift as a gale, fluid and effortless. He was nearly at his peak, and it would take him only two seconds to reach Penny and stab the Black Wolf to death.

That's right—the Black Wolf, the leader of the pack.